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Swine flu: Who is at risk? What are the symptoms?

by Jeremy Laurance on Apr 27, 2009

Swine flu: Who is at risk? What are the symptoms?

Q: What is swine flu?

A: Much the same as human flu – but in pigs. The worry is that pigs are excellent hosts for the virus. And because they are genetically close to humans, they can pass the virus to us more easily than birds can. The great fear over the past decade has been that the avian flu virus, H5N1, would infect pigs which would act as a reservoir for its transmission to humans. Luckily for the world, apart from a few isolated outbreaks, this did not happen.

Q: How worried should we be?

A: At this stage, no one knows. The virus that has caused the outbreak is a strain of the H1N1 type that contains bird, pig and human genes in a combination never seen before. Immunity to it will thus be limited. Scientists are working to establish the precise nature of the virus, the symptoms it causes and its capacity to cause disease and death.



Q Has swine flu infected humans before?

A: Yes. There...Read More >>



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What Is Swine Flu? How Is Swine Flu Treated?

by John Jorgensen

What Is Swine Flu? How Is Swine Flu Treated?

Swine flu (swine influenza) is a disease of pigs. It is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by one of many Influenza A viruses. Approximately 1% to 4% of pigs that get swine flu die from it. It is spread among pigs by direct and indirect contact, aerosols, and from pigs that are infected but do not have symptoms. In many parts of the world pigs are vaccinated against swine flu.

Most commonly, swine flu is of the H1N1 influenza subtype. However, they can sometimes come from the other types, such as H1N2, H3N1, and H3N2.

The current outbreak of swine flu...

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